This Time Tomorrow
by Lily Anna Evans Potter
Summary: Set 2 years after season 9. On Logan's 8th birthday, Clay and Quinn shock him with news of a baby brother or sister and paranoia of being replaced results. When the pregnancy ends in a tragic miscarriage, the family must pull together more than ever and pray for better luck next time. Clinn / Logan with support from Naley and kids.
1. The Birthday Surprise

**The Birthday Surprise**

"You're doing it again," Nathan Scott teased, leaning against the kitchen counter with a smirk as his wife slammed the oven door shut and turned to face him sheepishly. "The cake smells incredible babe, just focus on that, okay?"

"I wish I could," Haley groaned and stripped off her oven gloves as she drew closer to him. Her gaze darted to the staircase just visible from the open kitchen area. "The older Jamie gets, the weirder it is to think of him alone with a girl. Even if it is Madison and this has been inevitable for years," she sighed and nuzzled affectionately against him. "I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?"

"Completely," he laughed and kissed the tip of her nose. "He's twelve years old you dork, this is just the beginning. And you like Madison," he reminded her. "Now focus," he nodded in the direction of the oven; "Quinn is counting on you to make Logan a nice birthday cake, after all."

"I hope she's okay," Haley frowned thoughtfully; "This bug is lasting a long time. If I didn't know better I'd say she could be knocked up."

"Could well be," Nathan shuddered; "Still so weird to think of Clay and your sister that way."

"They've been married for two years, honey," Haley reminded him with an exasperated eye-roll. "Get over it!"

"I didn't say that would be a bad thing," he retorted; "Just strange to imagine, all I'm saying. They deserve it if you ask me."

"They more than deserve it," Haley nodded fervently, as the oven's timer pinged and she turned away after pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. "Ooh, Quinnie definitely can't complain about this slice of heaven," she said appreciatively, sliding the delicious-smelling cake onto a platter. She swatted Nathan's hand away firmly; "No touching, just get the door," she laughed as their doorbell clanged right on cue. Haley began to spread chocolate icing thickly on the cake as Nathan wandered off obediently; shaking his head at the power she had over him.

"Who is it, babe?" Haley called curiously over her shoulder.

"Either someone is a serious eager beaver or there's something very wrong here," he replied grimly and Haley frowned at his serious tone and turned around. Just visible from the kitchen area, Nathan stood near the front door with eight year old Logan clinging to him desperately. "I'd go with the latter," he murmured, patting the little boy awkwardly on the back. "What's going on, kid? Birthday boys aren't supposed to look so miserable."

Haley wiped her hands of chocolate icing quickly and joined them just in time to hear Logan's dramatic exclamation; "I'm being replaced is what's going on!"  
Nathan exchanged a perplexed look with his wife as she braced her hands comfortingly on the little boy's shoulders; "What on earth are you talking about, sweetie?"

At that moment Nathan's cell phone rang out shrilly from the surface of the kitchen counter. Leaving Logan tearfully explaining his dilemma to Haley, Nathan answered it to find Clay equally frantic on the other end of the line. "Is Logan with you?" he demanded without wasting time with a greeting.

"Calm down, he's here," Nathan replied reassuringly and heard an instant sigh of relief. "Dude, what the hell is going on?"

"Haley may well have figured this out already," Clay said, sounding much happier in the knowledge that Logan was safe. "Quinn's pregnant!"

"My wife is psychic," Nathan murmured in awe. "She totally called it. Isn't that a good thing, though? What's up with Logan? How did this happen?"

"Well Nate, when a man and a woman love each other…," Clay started teasingly and Nathan shuddered involuntarily.

"Finish that sentence and I'm never speaking to you again," he said firmly. His gaze wandered to the foot of the staircase to the upper floor, where Haley was now sitting with Logan perched on her lap, attempting to console him. "I'm serious Clay, the kid is a wreck! How did Quinn break the news?"

"She gift-wrapped her positive pregnancy test," he said. "We gave Logan his presents this morning and I guess she figured I'd like a more permanent present too. This would be one of the happiest days of my life if Logan hadn't completely freaked out."

"Well I'm glad to hear that for whatever it's worth," Nathan said. "How's Quinn holding up?"

"At least now there's a reason she's stuck in the bathroom so much, poor thing," Clay laughed. "I can take care of her, it's Logan I'm worried about right now."

"Don't worry about it, Jamie's always been able to get through to him," Nathan said reassuringly. "We'll get to the bottom of what's really bothering him about this situation, okay? Are you guys still coming by for cake later? Haley's very proud of how it turned out," he added temptingly.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Clay promised. "Tell Jamie thanks, alright? See you later, I owe you one."

"It's in the job description of family, buddy," Nathan replied. "See you around, Logan will be here."

"Good…see you in a bit," Clay sighed and hung up, just in time for a wail from Lydia's playpen to grab Nathan's attention. He motioned to a startled Haley not to push Logan away right now and went to pick up the three year old himself.

Lydia was pressed up against one wall of the square pen set up in the living room with tears streaming down her face. "What's wrong, princess?" Nathan asked, offering the toddler his hand soothingly.

"Spider," Lydia whimpered, pointing at the blanket lying in a crumpled heap at the other end of the pen with a quivering finger. Then she quickly stuck her thumb in her mouth and let Nathan lift her out of the confined space.

"You're bigger than any silly spider, baby girl," he said encouragingly. "Don't be scared, okay?" She leaned against his shoulder, still sucking her thumb hard. "Besides, we have company," Nathan added with a grin as Lydia lifted her head curiously when he came to a halt at the staircase where Haley and Logan were still sitting.

"Wolfy," she squealed, clapping her hands enthusiastically and Logan sidled away from Haley so Nathan could deposit the toddler on his lap.

"Hi Lydia," he said softly, grinning in spite of himself when she decided his fingers were more fun to suck on than her own. "For the last time, it's Wolverine!"

"Wolfy," Lydia insisted and Haley laughed and reached over to tickle her tummy.

"You see this?" she said triumphantly to Logan. "You're a natural big brother, why so worried? This one adores you."

Logan shook his head with a slight frown; "It's not the same thing, Aunt Haley," he stressed. "Jamie's an awesome big brother but his Dad never left him like mine did. What if Mom and Dad like the new baby better?" He squeezed Lydia's tiny hand with a sad smile; "But I do love this cutie too," he added affectionately.

"You should talk to Jamie, kiddo," Haley advised, taking Lydia from him again as she began to nod sleepily. "He's upstairs with Madison, perfect excuse to make sure he's being good up there," she hinted strongly. "Does that sound like a plan?"

"I do love spy missions," Logan grinned. "You can count on me, Aunt Haley," he promised and started up the stairs with a quick salute. Haley nodded proudly after him; she already knew that even better than the boy himself did.

Jamie's bedroom door was ajar when Logan reached it, with a very mournful film score sounding from beyond it. He knocked gently and pushed it open to find Madison Landry pressing her face against Jamie's shoulder. "I hate this part," she whimpered and Logan glanced at the paused movie to see a frozen shot of a man being knocked backwards through an archway by a flash of green light.

"Bellatrix is such a bitch," Jamie grumbled, shaking his head. "Luckily we have chocolate," he winked and snapped one of the candy bars lying between them on his bed in half. "Keeps at least Dementors away, you know."

"Yeah," the girl smiled as he popped a piece of the chocolate into her mouth. "That was a really good snack idea, chocolate fixes everything." She leaned over and shyly touched his hand, which Logan decided was his cue to interrupt the increasing intimacy of the moment.

"Jamie, do you have a minute?" he asked hesitantly. "Or are you too busy swearing at the movie bad guy?"

His cousin whipped around and went red in the face; "In this case it's bad girl actually, Wolverine," he corrected. "Which you would know if you would join the cool kids table and get into Harry Potter already," he added to cover up the flustered moment. "Knock next time!"

"I did knock," Logan protested and Madison smiled sweetly at him. "And hey, not my fault my Dad is obsessed with superheroes, it's rubbed off on me," he continued defensively. "Superpowers are totally as awesome as magic! Wolverine has healing powers, too cool," he grinned.

"So do phoenix tears," Jamie shot back dismissively, but he was smiling easily too. "Happy Birthday by the way, little man. What are you doing here already?" he added. "It can't be cake time yet, you addict," he teased.

Logan bit his lip nervously and looked down at his feet; "Um…no actually, Mom and Dad kind of had a shocker birthday surprise for me this morning. I just need some big brother action, I guess," he sighed at the gentle sympathy in Madison's eyes at his obvious distress. "You can stay," he added hastily to her, when the girl slid off Jamie's bed and snapped off the television. "Maybe I'm being silly, actually," he continued. "All normal families go through this eventually."

"What are you on about, Wolverine?" Jamie pressed impatiently.

Madison gave his arm a light, reproachful punch; "Don't be mean, Jamie," she scolded. She picked up another one of the candy bars on the bed and offered it to Logan; "How about some candy courage? It sounds like you have a bombshell to share."

"Chocolate is awesome, thanks," Logan smiled shyly and took it from her outstretched hand. He peeled back the wrapper and took a big bite, bracing himself to say the terrifying words out loud. Jamie and Madison were both watching him with obvious curiosity now and their expectant expressions weren't making the confession any easier. "How did you find out you were going to be a big brother, Jamie?" he asked finally, it was a whole lot easier than getting to the root of his fears right away.

"Huh?" Jamie exchanged a confused look with Madison before turning a puzzled frown on the younger boy; "Well…my Dad was leaving for a basketball training camp and just before he left he told me to take extra special care of Mom. It turned out it was Mom and the baby I had to look out for while he was gone," he recalled obligingly. "What's gotten into to you, Wolverine? That was way random."

"Are your parents having another baby?" asked Madison carefully, a wild guess at the desperation in Logan's eyes. She glanced at Jamie; "I think he was hoping you would guess, Jamie," she grinned. "Tutor Son and all that."

Jamie rolled his eyes; "I know you like superheroes bud, but that's no reason to be so bloody cryptic," he complained. "Why is a baby brother or sister a bad thing anyway? That's awesome!"

"You said a swear," Logan sniffed half-heartedly, the tears were rolling freely now. Madison quickly gathered up the bars of chocolate spread out between her and Jamie on the bed and shoved them to one side.

Jamie hopped off the bed and pulled the trembling eight year old into the now vacant space; "I'm still confused," he confessed as Logan's head tilted against his shoulder. "I didn't really like the idea of a new baby either when Mom and Dad told me, but you're being a bit extreme here, Wolverine."

He glanced up at Madison and mouthed an apology but she shook her head with a tiny smile. "I have a sister about your age," she told Logan, running her hand soothingly up and down his back. "Seven, is it?"

"Eight today," Logan mumbled, but the edge of pride had returned briefly to his choked voice. "I'm being silly," he sighed again. "I know I am, I just…I'm scared they'll like the new baby better than me. My real Mommy is an angel in heaven, Grandma says," he continued. "And Dad stayed away for so long, it's just too much to think that could maybe happen again. I don't wanna be replaced!"

There was a distinct hysterical edge to the rant spilling out of Logan's mouth now and Jamie grimaced at the concern on Madison's face before grasping both his cousin's small hands firmly. "Hey, I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay?" he said seriously and waited for the younger boy's shaky nod before carrying on.

"Your Dad has been best friends with mine for like half my life," he said. "Not that I spent a lot of time thinking about this when I was seven, but everyone could see it."

"See what?" Logan pressed apprehensively.

"That he was a great agent but he wasn't…happy," Jamie said decisively after searching for the best word to describe it for a moment. "I guess it was because of what happened to your Mommy. Things improved when my Dad became cool with Uncle Clay dating Aunt Quinn but there was always something missing."

"Take a guess what that was," Madison interrupted, nudging the tearful eight year gently.

Jamie smiled at her gratefully, but another voice cut in before Logan could respond; "If you seriously have to guess that then I'm not doing my job right." The three kids turned to see Clay leaning in the doorway, traces of a worried frown still etched on his face. Madison edged surreptitiously closer to Jamie as Logan leapt up and charged into his father's arms. "Don't scare me like that, kiddo," he sighed as Logan nuzzled against him, mumbling apologies. "Is your girlfriend staying for cake, Jamie?" he teased as Logan continued to cling desperately.

"Uncle Clay!" Jamie protested with a deep blush. "Is that the thanks I get for talking my crazy cousin out of a nervous breakdown?"

"I'm sorry Daddy," Logan chipped in as Clay frowned again. "This is really cool…really."

"I love you, Wolverine, okay?" he said insistently. "All this baby is going to change is that you'll have a baby brother or sister who will need you to love and protect them. Like Jamie loves Lydia," he smiled at his nephew's proud grin and gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks buddy, you did a good job on this one."

"No problem," Jamie said coolly and pulled Madison up from the bed. "Are you staying for cake, Maddie?"  
The Asian girl nodded eagerly and Jamie kept a tentative hold on her hand as he headed out of his room and back downstairs. On the way out he ruffled Logan's hair affectionately; "Where's your chocolate addiction now, knucklehead? The birthday boy can't be the last one to the table, fact," he laughed.

"In your dreams," Logan shot back and raced past the older two and down the stairs, his abandonment issues overshadowed by excitement at last.

**A / N My mission to keep Clinn alive in the fanfiction archive continues, enjoy all! xx**


	2. Days Go By Like Weeks

**Days Go By Like Weeks**

The next few weeks rolled by without any more major fits of paranoia on Logan's part and the end of November soon gave way to the coldest time of year. One Monday morning, just days before Christmas, Clay awoke to the now accustomed sounds of violent retching coming from the master bathroom. Knowing Quinn hated drawing attention to her miserable bouts of nausea, he gave a luxurious stretch and sat up, waiting for her to emerge. Eventually the toilet flush sounded, followed by the rush of tap water. Clay shifted impatiently on the bed, exercising all his self-control not to get up and pounce as soon as she walked out. Finally the bathroom door opened and Quinn stepped out onto the carpeted floor with a sigh. "Didn't get my slippers on in time today," she shuddered. "We really need to get that floor heating seen to…it's freezing in here!"

Clay just grinned widely; "Hmm, let's see if we can't do something about that very serious problem, shall we? Get over here," he teased, holding out his hand to her temptingly.

Quinn absently pulled out the rubber band she had hastily used to make a messy ponytail and ruffled her hair before crossing over the bed. "Sorry I'm not pretty for you right now," she mumbled, leaning against his shoulder for a split second before deciding her toes were in greater need of some warmth. "This part of the experience is super gross."

"If that's your story," Clay replied coolly, scrambling after her with determination as she crawled into the middle of the bed and tucked her cold feet back under the hastily discarded sheets. "If you ask me, Polly has never looked more beautiful."

Quinn grimaced at him in confusion as Clay toyed affectionately with a loose strand of her hair. "Who the hell is Polly?"

"You are now Polly," he declared with a smirk. "The cracker diet dictates your new nickname. Polly want a cracker?" he asked in a mocking baby voice, as if speaking to a pet parrot.

"Meanie," Quinn groaned, rolling her eyes half-heartedly as she grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at his head, her aim failing miserably.

"Did you brush your teeth again?" he asked seriously, grinning after dodging her assault and shifting closer to her again.

"Obviously," she muttered. "Why?"

"So that I can do this without it being really gross," he breathed, closing the distance between them firmly and pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. "Here's to the most beautiful woman in the world."

"Charmed I'm sure," Quinn teased back; "Very smooth…only too bad there's no time for a quickie with my darling Sergio," she winked. "See, my husband Clay has to go help his son get some breakfast before school."

"How sad," Clay sighed, clutching his heart dramatically. "I'm offended now. Just by the way, you mean our son," he corrected with another quick kiss before pulling back.

"Indeed I do," Quinn smiled. "Better hurry up or he'll be late," she urged. "Polly will be right out for some super boring crackers, see you soon."

"Never soon enough," he insisted and turned reluctantly to go and wake Logan at last.

Logan was already sitting up in bed with a comic book propped open on his lap when Clay crossed the landing to his bedroom. He knocked on the door frame with a smile at the sight; "Hey Wolverine, ready for some breakfast? It is still a school day, you know," he reminded him.

"I know," Logan said softly.

He put the comic aside but didn't look up and Clay hesitantly entered the room and sat down at the foot of the bed; "What's on your mind, kid? You're too quiet…is sticking with Jamie after school today going to be a problem?"

Logan chewed his lower lip in nervous silence for a moment and shook his head. "That's not it," he said. "Is Mama Q okay? I heard her being sick again."

Clay smiled and gripped the little boy's shoulder comfortingly; "She's a human alarm clock every morning now," he laughed. "Don't worry kiddo; it's all part of having a baby. It's a totally gross part of the whole thing but nothing to worry about, okay? She'll be fine, I promise."

"Good," Logan said absently, but he didn't look any less worried as Clay pulled him up from the bed and led him down the stairs to the kitchen. The eight year old perched in thoughtful silence on one of the chairs around their breakfast table as Clay reached into the cupboard for his cereal.

"Grow some more then you'll be able to reach this yourself," he joked, placing the cereal carton and a bowl in front of the boy.

Logan helped himself without a word, only meeting Clay's gaze after he had downed the first bite. "Dad…you're gonna meet the new baby today, right?" he asked hesitantly.

"Kind of," Clay explained. "The baby is still growing you know, it's just going to be a picture right now. Why do you ask?"

Logan swallowed hard and the spoon in his hand began to tremble dangerously; "I…um, can you promise you won't like the new baby better than me...please?" he begged desperately.

"What?" Clay grimaced. He sat down opposite the little boy and held onto both his shaking hands. "I thought you were becoming okay with this," he sighed.

"Listen to me…you're not competing with this baby, okay?" He squeezed Logan's trembling fingers once more and stood up; "Keep eating, you need to get to school," he instructed firmly. "I just need to get something to show you, I'll be right back. Okay?"

Logan did as he asked with a reluctant nod and a few minutes later Clay joined him once more. He placed a photo frame delicately on the kitchen table and turned it so that the picture was facing his son. The eight year old leaned forward curiously and smiled in spite of himself; "Is that me?" he asked in amazement.

"You bet it is, you goof," Clay said, smiling fondly at the photograph. "Half the things and people in this photograph are gone forever. That armchair belonged to my Dad, your Mommy loved it almost more than me some days."

"Really?" Logan giggled and stared at the tiny bundle in Sara's arms in wonder. "You look really happy," he remarked. "Nana told me about the chair once, actually. She said it was around when you were a baby, sounds crazy."

"Are you calling me ancient, bud?" Clay teased. "It was though, that chair survived many crazy times in my family. This," he said with a nod at the photograph; "was taken the day you came home from hospital. Your Mommy and I couldn't stop staring at you for one minute," he swore solemnly. "You remember I told you how counting to two was my special thing with her?"

"Yeah," Logan nodded with a grin, the story of the college bridge jump was one of his all-time favorites.

"Well I never told you this one," Clay continued. "You were even born on the count of two."

"No way," Logan gasped and his eyes went adorably wide in awe. "That's so cool!"

"That can be your bedtime story for tonight if you want," Clay promised, as the little boy quickly drained the last of his milk from the bowl. "You better hurry and get dressed now though, okay?"

"Okay," his son sighed reluctantly and almost collided with Quinn on his way back upstairs. "Oops, sorry Mom," he said quickly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not a paper doll, honey," she smiled. "All good I promise." She gave him an affectionate squeeze then nudged him in the direction of the stairs. "Hurry up now, Jamie's going to be here to walk you to school any minute," she reminded him.

"Yes boss," Logan saluted with a grin and ran up the stairs.

"That's exactly what I just said," Clay gasped in mock-despair, staring after the retreating eight year old.

"He likes me better," Quinn winked and stepped into his solid embrace with a contented sigh. But Clay didn't smile and then she noticed the photograph on the kitchen table; "Did I miss something?" she asked gently.

"He's still worried about us liking the new baby better," Clay explained with a heavy sigh. Quinn's loving expression clouded with concern at his despairing tone. "He's seemed fine for weeks…I guess the milestones trigger this paranoia or something. Sorry about this," he said, gesturing vaguely at the photograph. "This is our big day, not the time to be thinking about ghosts," he smiled.

"Don't you dare apologize," she shot back firmly, smiling at the photograph in turn. "This is exactly the time to look back, you're so lucky to have experienced this miracle before." She looped her arms around his neck and drew close enough for a kiss. Before their lips collided she said with solid conviction; "Sara will always be the reason that amazing kid exists, you might want to remind him of that."

"I'm doing my best," he murmured, distracted by her proximity. "Do you have any idea how much I love you, Q?"

"Just a little hunch," she teased and finally crashed her lips against his. "As soon as Logan is out of here, Shutter Bug wants a date with Sergio," she demanded flirtatiously. "We have plenty of time before the doctor's appointment and you can never resist that glittery superhero mask."

"I can when Shutter Bug is having my baby," he protested firmly. "I doubt that other boyfriend you always used to threaten to spend Valentine's Day with could have pulled that one off, all my hard work."

"Oh really, is that so?" Quinn raised her eyebrows with a skeptical grin. "The cockiness is a huge turn-on, Mr. Evans," she whispered in his ear. "Either cut it out or accept the fact that Shutter Bug is getting exactly what she wants very soon indeed."

"Don't bet on that, sweetheart," he said firmly. "Sergio might not be bothered about this baby, but Clay most definitely has priorities. My family comes before Shutter Bug's crazy urges, deal with it."

"You're a total meanie," Quinn groaned, rolling her eyes at him as she pulled out a fresh box of crackers from the cupboard with a disgusted grimace. "And I love you."

"You're just saying that because you're deprived of your coffee fix, missy," he said knowingly, dropping kisses to her exposed shoulder blades as she struggled with the sealed box. "I love you too."

"Saved by the bell," Quinn giggled at Clay's exasperated expression and shoved the box of crackers at him, as the doorbell clanged. "Get this open, would you? I'm starving," she complained and wandered over to the front door.

"Logan, Jamie's here!" Quinn yelled up the stairs as she pulled open the front door. "And Chuck," she added in surprise. "Quite an escort party, buddy," she grinned at Jamie's casual shrug. "Come in for a sec, Logan should be down in a minute." She returned her nephew's affectionate hug while Chuck looked on, rolling his eyes; "You'll take Logan home with you after school today, right?" she double-checked seriously. "Be nice, the doctor's appointment is freaking him out a bit."

"I'm always nice," Jamie protested good-naturedly. "Don't worry Aunt Quinn, he'll be okay," he promised. He grinned widely at her still flat stomach; "Good luck today, this is too cool. Are you nervous?"

"A little," Quinn confessed. "Any firsts are scary, that doesn't change no matter how old you get."

"Not that we're old," Clay cut in with a laugh, emerging from the kitchen at that moment. "Your crackers, madam," he said, handing Quinn the plate with a mocking bow. "Hey kids."

"I remember that cracker eating competition we had in the hospital when Lydia was born," Jamie said nostalgically. "That's a really boring breakfast, Aunt Quinn."

"Her options are limited if Mr. Toilet Bowl isn't destined to see more of her than I am," Clay joked and Quinn elbowed him in the ribs with a frustrated huff. "Ouch! Well it's true, I must not tell lies," he winked at Jamie. "That's the motto of Harry Potter, right Jamie?"

"You're learning," Jamie beamed proudly as Logan charged suddenly down the stairs. "It's about time, Wolverine, let's go!"

"We'll pick you up tonight, kiddo," Clay said, ruffling Logan's hair as his son dashed past and out the door. "Be good for Uncle Nate and Aunt Haley, okay?"

"Always," Logan called over his shoulder and then he screeched to a halt and rushed back up the porch steps with Chuck and Jamie looking on impatiently. "Good luck," he murmured, pressing a kiss to Quinn's cheek and quickly hugging his father. "Love you."

"We love you too," they said in unison and then Clay put his arm around Quinn and they stood on the beach house porch watching the three boys dashing across the beach on their way to another school day.

**A / N I'm enjoying the OTP fuzzies too much, ah! xx**


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